Amy Acker on Caitlin Showing a Tougher Side on ‘The Gifted’

Caitlin Strucker is on a mission this season on “The Gifted,” determined to get her son Andy back, after he left the Mutant Underground for a new home with Reeva Payge and the more extreme methods of the Inner Circle.  

Marvel.com recently spoke to Amy Acker about Caitlin’s current mindset, and just how intense it has made her – including a moment in the season premiere where a bullet grazed her and only seemed to make her more determined, as she showed a much more threatening side. While this may have been something we hadn't seen before from, Caitlin, fans of Acker’s roles on series like “Angel” and “Person of Interest” know just how good she can be at playing someone dangerous, as she joked about when we spoke...

Marvel.com: This season has a very different dynamic. Was it exciting for you seeing how they’d really switched things up with these two groups and, in your case, splitting off a family member like that?

Amy Acker: Yeah. We were all like “What’s going to happen when we come back!?” And so coming back and having these two different groups, from an acting standpoint, was really exciting because last year we were all in one building all the time. You didn’t really have a lot of individual scenes with two or three characters. The way we split it up this year we have people interacting in different ways. I really love the scene with Blink and Lauren - and I don’t know if they even spoke to each other last year! So it’s fun to see how people act when they’re put in different situations. 

Marvel.com: So far this season, there’s been some big scenes between Caitlin and Eclipse, which makes sense given their shared scenario of losing someone to the Inner Circle. Have you enjoyed getting to explore that dynamic? 

Amy Acker: Yeah, there’s a scene in the second episode that we had a whole lot of fun doing. I was excited about that just from last year. Sean [Teale] and I had that one scene where we went to the hospital together and then we never spoke again. I think it’s great putting them together, especially where they’re both looking for the same thing and are kind of on the same path, so I’m glad they explored that.

Marvel.com: The whole family wants Andy back but your character is especially driven in that regard. We see more of that in the second episode and how it’s actually causing some marital tension. Is that interesting to explore? 

Amy Acker: We had a lot of discussions. We had someone on set who talked about having a child who had been really ill and how it affected the rest of their family and it was interesting to explore what being that obsessed about something can do to forgetting about the people who are right in front of your face. It’s not like Reed is perfect either. He has some secrets! 

Marvel.com: In the premiere, there’s that big scene where Caitlin’s shot but just keeps on trucking and gets to be very tough in a way we may not have seen before. Is it fun exploring this side of Caitlin?

Amy Acker: Yeah! I hope that that continues through the season. It started off with a bang. But yeah I think the idea that they put the line in the beginning that I’ve been training and all of that stuff -- there’s so much that happens, but we’re just getting back to that side of her now. You know me, I like killing people on TV! [Laughs] 

Marvel.com: Caitlin’s a non-mutant amongst mutants. Right now, she’s focused on getting her son back, but taking a step back from that, do you think it’s a little odd for her being the "other" in this situation? Or because it’s her family does she not think about that?

Amy Acker: I think that is going to play in more as the season goes on, but from an Amy standpoint, I like that I’m the only [human]. Everyone’s like “Don’t you want a power?” And I’m like “No, I want to be the only human. I want to be the last human standing!” I feel like I chose good allies and I think from last year, early on she felt like these people were her family when she met them and that’s one of the great things about the character they wrote for me. Sean [Teale] and Blair [Redford] always joke that Caitlin’s superpower is that she’s very accepting. And that’s not a bad way to be. They make fun of me for it but I think it’s nice that all the characters have different viewpoints. And she’s the one who is willing to accept whoever is there. She really cares about people and I think that comes from her medical background. She’s willing to help whoever needs help -- except for maybe the Inner Circle. [Laughs]

Marvel.com: So we might continue to see more of a tougher side?

Amy Acker: Yeah, I think that’s the path we’re trying to go down. A lot happens in-between and I think for a few episodes you start to see the sort of manic-ness of trying to get Andy and that plays through with her medical history a little bit. She just makes decisions that Season 1 Caitlin wouldn’t have done. She makes sacrifices, and takes risks that she wouldn’t have done without this laser focus on getting Andy back. 

New York Comic Con attendees, don’t miss “The Gifted” panel on Sunday, October 7 from 12:30pm-1:30pm. 

The next episode of “The Gifted” airs Tuesday, October 9 at 8:00pm ET/PT on FOX. 

Make sure to follow @TheGiftedonFOX on Twitter and like "The Gifted" on Facebook. You can also see more about the show at Marvel.com's section for "The Gifted" Season 2.